NIFA Invests to Develop Youth Food, Ag, Farm Safety Education

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) announced Thursday an investment of over $3.5 million to support educational awareness of food, agriculture, and farm safety for youth in underserved communities.

This investment includes $2 million in grants awarded through NIFA's Food and Agriculture Service Learning Program (FASLP) under the new Agricultural Research, Extension, and Education Initiative, and more than $1.6 million in grants awarded over four years through its Youth Farm Safety Education and Certification program.

"As we work across USDA to improve nutrition security and resilience in the local food supply chain, we recognize that young people will play a vital role in the long-term success of those efforts," said NIFA Director Dr. Carrie Castille. "Programs to prepare them for the task, like the Food and Agriculture Service Learning Program, will not only help improve the nutritional health of children, but will increase their agricultural knowledge through service-learning activities." Investments like these are critical in ensuring historically underserved groups can more fully access and participate in USDA programs and services and for equipping our youth and their communities to meet food and agricultural challenges.

Examples of the nine funded FASLP projects include:

• Earth Charter Indiana, Inc., will assist 20 schools in establishing and maintaining gardens to cultivate youth leadership and address high levels of food deserts in Indiana's underserved communities. Each garden project will be paired with a local food producer to assist with agricultural skill sharing. ($225,000)
• Connecting the Dots: The Kentucky Farm to School Network will advance the farm to school movement, increase the knowledge of agriculture and improve the nutritional health of K-12 students, and bring together stakeholders from distinct parts of the food system by establishing a statewide Farm to School Network. Following the National Farm to School Network's State Farm to School Network's best practices, activities will include 1) identifying and engaging stakeholders, 2) establishing a robust network structure, 3) setting a strategic vision and direction, and 4) raising awareness. Four "network advocates" from partner organizations, Kentucky Horticulture Council (KHC), Kentucky Department of Agriculture (KDA), Feeding Kentucky, and Community Farm Alliance (CFA), will work together to lead the network development activities with the many project collaborators. Two pilot projects will provide food, garden, and nutrition education opportunities to K-12 students across the Commonwealth and foster community engagement through internship programs. The first pilot project will provide opportunities for taste testing of local produce in the cafeteria during Farm to School month and the other pilot project will provide opportunities for experiential learning through the establishment of school gardens. ($224,234)
• Minnesota State University Mankato will collaborate with Greater Minneapolis Council of Churches, Model Citizen, and Mankato Youth Place to increase the capacity of youth-serving organizations to provide food, gardening, and nutrition education serving predominantly rural, BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) and socially disadvantaged elementary and secondary students in Minnesota's urban and rural communities. ($224,744)

Learn more about eligibility and how to apply for NIFA's Food and Agriculture Service Learning Program grants at https://bit.ly/3GOuzT7.

"The Youth Farm Safety Education and Certification Program supports a National Clearing House of youth farm safety educational curriculum, enhancement and development of new curriculum and enhanced instructor expertise in delivering safety training to youth among African American, Native American, and Hispanic/Latinx farming communities," said Castille.

The three funded Youth Farm Safety Education and Certification projects include:

• University of Nebraska Medical Center will support the National Clearing House and build on activities and accomplishments of the Safety in Agriculture for Youth (SAY) project through marketing, outreach and expansion of 30 curriculums and 12 resources related to agricultural safety and health, and will continue to provide support to students taking the OSHA 10-Hour General Industry (Agriculture) course. ($112,000)
• Ohio State University's Ohio Safety in Youth for Agricultural project will support safety training for young farm workers and safety curriculum for educators who teach youth workers through non-formal and formal approaches, and will incorporate technology-based learning and performance tools into youth workforce training materials, such as on-line learning platforms with digital badges and Virtual Reality technologies. ($189,633)
• Utah State University will promote and encourage a sustainable and highly qualified population of Tractor and Machinery Certification instructors who may serve an underrepresented population of youth representing African American, Native American, and Hispanic/Latinx farming communities as well as promote digital learning tools with Youth Farm Safety Education and Certification curriculum. ($113,719)

Learn more about eligibility and how to apply for NIFA's Youth Farm Safety Education and Certification grants at https://bit.ly/3BNpvu8.